Holder for starting cranks



July 21, 1925. 1,547,089

- C. J. WHITACRE HOLDER FOR STARTING CRANKS Filed Aug. 21, 1922 awumtoz I flfiencej Patented July 21, 1925.-

UNITED STATES tsetse ra'rinsrr OFFICE.

CLARENCE J. V/HITACBE, 0F JANESVILLE, \VISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL MOTOR-S COR-POBATIOII, 033' DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION; OF DELAWARE.

HOLDER For, STARTING on-anxs.

Application filed August 21, 1922. 'Selial No. 583,442;

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CLARENCE J. 1111 ACRE, a citizen oft-he United States, and a resident of Janesville, county of Rock, and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Holders for Starting Cranks, of which the following is a script-ion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichthe invention relates to. make and use the same, reference being made v therein to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification.

My invention relates to starting cranks for use particularly with farm tractors driven by internal combustion engines for turning the engine over manually when it y is to be started, although the same is i'also capable of use with automob les, trucks and similar motor drlven vehicles; and the ob ect thereof is to providela' holding'member or device for holding the starting crank in an upright position, with itshandle up and away from the ground, when the crank is r not being used to start the engine.

A further object of my invention is to provide a pivotally supported swinging starting crankholding member for the purpose stated which can under no circumstances interfere with the-operation of the crank; the construction and arrangement thereof being such that it will be lifted and swung out of the way by the crank when the same is operated, even though said holding member be not swung into a position out of the path of the crank preliminarily to the starting of the engine as'it should be when the engine is about to be started.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification, and wherein the preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary View showing the front end of atractor or similar vehicle in elevation, and as seen from a position in Figure 1, but showing the parts in side elevation. I

Figure 1 1s a view show ng my invent on full, clear, concise, and exact deby itself and apart from a vehicle, and in plan and upon a larger scale. Y I

l igure 5 is aview corresponding with Figure 4, but showing my invention inside elevation. V

Referring now to the drawing, the reference numeral 6 designates a conventional radiatorstructure of a motor driven ve-,

' front of the radiator and having a handle portion 9 to be grasped by the operator in starting the engine. I I

The radiator illustrated is of the type .or class wherein a cellular. coreportion 10 and a lower water chamber 11 are secured to- .gether by spaced'fasteningbolts 12 and,

while my invention 'is not directly concerned with any particular radiator structure it does, in its more specific aspect, in volve aradiator having core and water chamber portions secured together. by fastening bolts substantially as illustrated in the drawing. I

Securedto the radiator structure preferably by one or more bolts 12 which fasten the core and the lower water chamber portions thereof together is a base member 13 made, for example, from thin plate metal stock; and which base is I rovided with. aligned bearings 14,,14 ad acent its ends which, in the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated,are formed by bending projecting lugs of the sheet metal blank from which the base is formed into hollow cylindrical form about end supporting portions of the swinging crank holding element of my invention, to be next described.

The immediate crank holding member of my invention is shown as made from a piece of round bar iron bent to provide aligned end bearing portions 15, 15 which fit loosely within the bearings 14, 14- of the base member so that it is free to swing up and down about the pivotal connections thus provided,

and arms 16, 16 extending at about right angles to said end "portions and which are connected. together at their outer ends by a curved portion' 17 ofiset' from the axis of said bearing portions and which forms a recess within which the crank arm 7 may v ber 13 to thereby support said holding mem- 1 lie; and the sides ofiwhich recess will act to hold the crank in a substantially vertical position, as shown in Figure 2, if the crank is first placed in sucha posit-ion and the said member-then swung downward and into the position indicated in said figure. The plane of the curved portion 17 is;prefer,ably .inclined relative to the plane of the arms 16, as best shown in Figure 5, so that the said curved portion will lie nearly horizontal when the crank is being heldupright. When the engineis to be started the crank holding memberis swung upward about the pivotal connections between the same and its supporting plate to thereby release the crank and permit itsfree end to be engaged with the crank shaft=of the engine, whereupon-and upon turning the crank the engine may be started manually, as will be appreciated.

When the crank holding member is swung upward to release the crank it should be swung into the extreme position indicated at in Figure 3, in which it rests against the front of the radiator and remains out of the path of the crank during the starting position. If, however, the op erator fails'to swingsaid holding member past a vertical position, or if it falls into the posit-ion shown-at -B', Figures 1 and 3, said: holding member will nevertheless not interfere with the starting of the engine; for when said member is in said last mentioned positionvthe outer ends of the arms 16 extend beyond the crank, and the said member will be-swung-upward by engagement of the crank with the-under sides fthe armsthereof as the crank is rotated.

If the, crank 7 is operated rapidly the crank holding member may be swung up.- ward --with such velocity that it will be thrown into theextreme position indicated at A-, in Figure 3, in which position it may remain until the starting is accompl ishedandv the operator swings jsaid member downward to hold the crank man upright position, as shown in Figure 2; while if the rotation of the crank is slower the holding member will follow the crank and be lifted upon each rotation thereof. As a matter of course if extremely slow motion is assumed the holding member might return from an upward swing quick enough to engage the crank before it passes beyond the recess provided by the curved connecting portion 17 of the holding member, thus arresting the motion of the'crank before the starting of the engine is effected. At all ordinary speeds of rotation, however, the crank will pass the recess before the holding member has time'to return from the upward swing in'iparted to it by the crank.-

As a matter of fact said holding member is commonly thrown clear into the extreme position A- upon each rotation of the crank, although it commonly rebounds and returns past its vertical position and falls down over the crank,to be again lifted upon the next rotation thereof, as will be understood.

Having thus described and explained my invention, I claim and desireto secure by Letters Patent:

In a crank holding device of the :class described and in combination :with a rotatable starting crank,a vertically'swinging- 

